As a business owner, your profits depend on the people who work for you and the people who purchase the goods and/or services that your company provides. Therefore, if you are considering a merger, you need to look at how it might affect each group.
Unless you take certain, proactive steps, you may find that a merger that looks great on paper ultimately won’t serve either your employees or your customers.
Your employees and those of the other company
Unhappy or unmotivated staff are unlikely to produce the same results as happy and motivated ones. The very mention of a merger can send waves of worry surging through your workforce. They’ll know that things are going to change, and some might not be happy about that.
Many will rightly be worried about the security of their jobs, as will their counterparts employed by the company with which you intend to merge. They’ll know some people will lose their jobs or status by the very nature of the process of merging. The combined company is not going to need two Heads of Marketing, for example.
Working out how to reassure and retain your key staff will require careful consideration, as will ensuring that the general workforce does not drop in performance as they may be more concerned about finding stable employment than rolling the dice by remaining where they are.
Your customers
Some customers may have stuck with you through thick and thin for personal reasons, despite efforts of your competitors to lure their business from you. If your customers see that your company is changing, they may consider the bond has weakened.
For instance, a local restaurant might buy craft beer from a small supplier. If that craft brewery merges with one from out of town and becomes much bigger, the restaurant may decide it no longer meets its criteria for small, sustainable local suppliers.
Merging with another company can have huge benefits if the move is well thought out and it can do a lot of damage if not. As a result, you’ll want to seek professional guidance if you’re concerned that you’re not considering both of these key groups of people proactively enough while you’re preparing to merge.